Making Erap’s conviction a poll issue won’t fly

BACKBENCHER

Rod. P. Kapunan

10/31/2009

It will not do any good for the self-righteous to harp on the conviction of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada just to discredit his bid to regain the presidency. The issue of his conviction and the subsequent pardon given him by the very person who masterminded his ouster is not something for the hypocrites to wiggle about. Nobody in his right mind would be proud to claim he played a role in that dark episode, for clearly what had transpired was a criminal conspiracy committed by a handful few. And just to make sure Estrada would never again be able to enter politics, they put up a Kangaroo Court that would ensure his conviction.

The constitutional vandalism that followed the political swindling was an open declaration that these self-styled guardians of morality stand above the law or that no law that can dissuade them from doing what they want. It was an unparalleled case of judicial infamy because no matter how one tries to recall what happened, it was not a case of justice being vindicated, but a hysteria of mad dogs craving for power. This is pointed out because they first removed by a coup d’ etat disguised as “People Power” the sitting president. From there, the hypocrites proceeded to put up a judicial circus beginning with the denial of his petition questioning the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman to indict him by creating a special division of the Sandiganbayan to hear those cases to ensure his conviction.

If does not take a lawyer to understand what is provided in that clerico-elitist Constitution. Even assuming the sitting president was guilty of those charges, he is still entitled to the same degree of procedural due process just as the rest of the accused are. How could those who masterminded his ouster proceed to litigate Estrada in the Sandiganbayan when he was not even convicted by the Senate impeachment court? Worse, the failure to convict him was not of his own making, but for reasons that they could not muster enough votes, and had to walk out to make things more dramatic for them.

For anybody to make a fuss over the conviction of Estrada is to highlight himself as a despicable ignoramus. The whole process, from day one when he was indicted to the day he was granted a pardon, was an ignominious judicial setback. Nowhere in the world where the power grabber alleged that the basis for her takeover was on the physical incapacity of the President, but that the verdict that legalized his ouster was based on “constructive resignation,” a reason not found in any judicial precedents, not even in the Labor Code. How in the world could the grantor of the pardon disqualify Estrada based on the condition put into his mouth quoting him saying “he has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office.”

Yet, for all their claims that Estrada is a convicted felon whose grace of freedom is only by virtue of a “presidential pardon,” it has not earned them a merit of respect from our people. Never has there been a case where the person who had publicly confessed of looting the coffers of the government become a star witness to pin down the man who allegedly benefited from the proceeds of his crimes. Worse, those who rendered the verdict ended up as justices of the Supreme Court which reason Estrada deemed it useless to appeal his case.

Despite Estrada’s conviction, politicians aiming to become president flocked to Tanay to pay homage and all hoping to get his endorsement, which persistence only ended after he announced his intention to run for president. The question is for what reason should beg his endorsement? For one, why should Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar, who is now running for president under the Nacionalista Party, and the person who stood as speaker who rammed the impeachment resolution for Estrada to be tried by the Senate, gone out of his way to visit him on several occasions?

Surely, Senator Villar went there not to make amends with the man he premeditatedly sought to be ousted. This is the logical deduction for even ordinary men would try to dissociate themselves from a known convict. It is not only dangerous but morally wrong because convicts are ostracized as social lepers. The demand to observe this kind of social protocol is binding for politicians who want to present themselves as the poor boy who made it to the top like Villar. Rather, his persistence was something he hoped could tremendously boost his chances of winning in this coming election.

The same can be said of those self-righteous hypocrites now rooting for Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino. They ought to be reminded that they lost whatever moral clout they had to call the former president a convicted candidate after their icon, former President Corazon Aquino, publicly expressed her apology to Estrada. The denial of Noynoy Aquino on the apology made by his mother only catalyzed the truth that he is one fellow who would publicly rebuke his own mother saying it was a joke or said in jest. More than that, if Mrs. Aquino is treated by the yellow horde as its sanctified icon, then what good will it do to remind the people of her so-called wisdom if her own followers do not agree with her that Estrada is not guilty?

Indeed, the charisma of Estrada as candidate remains strong because the political swindling committed has become a lesson the masa have learned.

(E-mail: rodkap@yahoo.com.ph)

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